[JURIST] A US federal judge has approved a settlement under which Arthur Andersen [Wikipedia backgrounder] will pay $72.5 million to investors who sued the firm for its involvement in the Enron scandal [JURIST news archive]. US District Judge Melinda Harmon [official profile] signed an order approving the settlement, ending the former accounting giant's involvement in a $40 billion class action lawsuit [plaintiff materials]. The University of California Board of Regents is the main plaintiff in the case and has already received over $7.3 billion from JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse Group were also sued in the case, but they are seeking a ruling [JURIST report] that the case should never have been certified as a class action [opinion and order, PDF].

The US Supreme Court overturned [JURIST report] a 2002 obstruction of justice conviction [JURIST report] against Arthur Andersen for its involvement in the fallout of Enron [Wikipedia backgrounder], but the ruling did not come in time to save the accounting firm which is no longer in operation. FinancialWire has more.